Said Clippers swingman Ricky Davis, who played with Davis in Charlotte: "He's like the second coach. You've got Coach and you've got Baron. Baron the Brain.

"He might not even need instruction from the coach. He just knows tempo and knows when to get his shot when he needs it."

Said Dunleavy: "He's clearly a leader of this team. Watched him play on the floor last night and since the time I've been here, nobody's been able to run an offense the way he can run it, based on scoring and making plays."

Rookies and injuries

Yes, they seem to go hand in hand.

Clippers rookie guard Eric Gordon's ankle injury, suffered on the first day of training camp, could keep him out of practice five days, a week or longer.

Is Gordon injury-prone? He also suffered a hamstring injury that limited his summer-league play to two games.

Or is he simply the victim of a couple of flukes?

Dunleavy picked the latter.

"He's had a bit of bad luck," Dunleavy said.

Gordon, the Clippers' first-round draft pick in June, sprained his right ankle during the night scrimmage Tuesday after stepping on a player's foot when he was going for a defensive rebound.

He was scheduled to be evaluated by a doctor.

Missing a week or so at this stage of camp isn't a huge setback.

"The thing is, it's early enough, so there's plenty of time," Dunleavy said. "Basically, as long as he stays and watches everything we're doing. Conditioning wise, he's in good shape."

Also missing the morning practice Wednesday was Marcus Camby, who is suffering from flu-like symptoms, the Clippers said.